Author: Stefan Autengruber, License Ethics

With regard to indirect use, Voice e. V. is trying to bring about a concession for all existing customers throughout Europe by means of an antitrust complaint. The DSAG association is in discussion with SAP on behalf of its members in order to bring about rules and a better position in the DACH region. But everything will be different in 2019!

The SAP community needs a harmonious and functioning customer-vendor relationship. But existing customers also need universally applicable conditions and transparency in license prices. Only an antitrust suit can restore the level playing field, right?

The "transparent" SAP inventory customer, in combination with historical license and contract knowledge, can have his licenses counted by USMM and LAW as well as evaluated by experts - and save! But SAP can use this knowledge to evaluate "indirect" usage. Almost anything is possible.

Thinking in terms of end-to-end processes has dominated ERP from the very beginning. E2E is ultimately the added value of any holistic, business IT system. In these systems, everything is connected to everything else - an advantage for the user, a challenge for license management.

Do SAP licensees need a lawyer? Yes, because the combination of PKL and GTC can only be mastered by trained experts with historical knowledge. No, because operational, complex ERP architectures cannot be synchronized with SAP license agreements anyway. Anything is possible.

SAP is aware of its "license debt" and is trying tentative repair service behavior without losing face. But SAP CEO Bill McDermott has too many construction sites for quick answers. The next escalation threatens around a possible "Native Hana Developer".

SAP was a revolution in terms of its technical and business approach. The company and its relationship with existing customers have largely evolved. SAP is not a quick fix, so historical knowledge is a guarantee for future success.

Those who don't start building up SAP licensing expertise now will regret it when they migrate to S/4 at the latest. The British beverage company Diageo could have saved itself a lot of problems and money if it had known the true story of indirect use. The facts have been on the table since 2005.